World Cup: How will we remember World Cup 2018?

How do we remember the 2014 WC? Germany winning and the 7-1 drubbing of Brazil are obvious. But after that? I'm a Dutch supporter, so Van Persie's flying header against Spain stands out (less the skill, more just the amazing image of it). What else really stands out as a lasting memory?

I think VAR has been good and not just to correctly call penalties in the box. I'm hoping the obvious dives will be more easily put under the microscope and start to fade somewhat. In a less obvious example, in an early group stage match, Pepe flopped after contact with Costa and lied down trying to induce a foul call while Costa beat two other defenders for a goal. VAR clearly showed a flop, and Pepe could've easily defended and prevented the goal instead of going for an academy award. I can only hope players see the futility in such obvious antics being detected in the future.

Otherwise, I'm really hoping that parity has broken through. The group stage was much more competitive, and there are several sides that can legitimately claim their first WC title. I'm hoping for a new winner, and that's pretty hard for most fans to argue against as a happy outcome.

How do we remember the 2014 WC? Germany winning and the 7-1 drubbing of Brazil are obvious. But after that? I'm a Dutch supporter, so Van Persie's flying header against Spain stands out (less the skill, more just the amazing image of it). What else really stands out as a lasting memory?

Click to expand...

The 7-1 for sure.

Other things:

The B.S. of the opening fixture, where Croatia went 1-0 up and then ended up losing 3-1 after a stupid penalty call and a disallowed tying goal.
Everything James did.
Robben dragging the Dutch kicking and screaming.
Costa Rica's run.

The 7-1 for sure.
The B.S. of the opening fixture, where Croatia went 1-0 up and then ended up losing 3-1 after a stupid penalty call and a disallowed tying goal.

Click to expand...

For a Croatian fan, that's pretty much it.
Anger and rage after losing to a cheating Brazil side and lousy reffing, with a number of game-deciding errors in the game. Oh and Fred thanking God after the ref gave him the penalty for his dive.

And then the sweet sense of satisfaction watching the Brazilian tears when Germany was pounding them.
3-0. 4-0. 5-0. It just kept getting better and better. 7-0.
I never felt sorry for them. I was mildly upset the even scored to make it 7-1.

For a Croatian fan, that's pretty much it.
Anger and rage after losing to a cheating Brazil side and lousy reffing, with a number of game-deciding errors in the game. Oh and Fred thanking God after the ref gave him the penalty for his dive.

And then the sweet sense of satisfaction watching the Brazilian tears when Germany was pounding them.
3-0. 4-0. 5-0. It just kept getting better and better. 7-0.
I never felt sorry for them. I was mildly upset the even scored to make it 7-1.

Click to expand...

I remember I had a bunch of pals over to watch the match, and I said before it started that I backed Croatia to pull off the upset, and I was feeling pretty damn good about that prediction. From the moment that penalty got called, you just knew they weren't making the knockouts.

Bull**** the team won the WC & the Confed Cup despite Jogi’s errors...which eliminated us in 2012, 2016 & now 2018.

Click to expand...

May I ask what he did wrong in 2016? I remember Germany absolutely dominating France but not being able to score and France getting that fluke penalty. Other than sticking with Mueller who could'nt score with a bagful of money in a wh0re house, Germany seemed quite fine.

In the QF Germany weren't all that vs an Italy squad that already showed signs of departing into mediocrity. I thought Germany's play in that game often had that same sleepiness and predictability that I saw this World Cup. The way Germany played this World Cup didn't come out of nowhere or start in the pre-tournament friendlies either.

It's an inherent problem when a team starts getting complacent. Possession football is meant to be about constantly probing while maintaining quick movement to expose the hidden spaces that open up when the defense is forced to keep running after you, but if a team starts relying on a 'we'll score anyway' mentality nd starts moving less and less, becoming more and more predictable in their passing..it looks like Germany 2018.

And this is the real reason Löw's departure should be a no-brainer..dude's been there for 12 years as boss, 14 years in a leading role, is approaching retirement age. Players admitted they went into the tournament complacent, that the group stage wasn't taken seriously, that players weren't willing to sacrifice. Those are symptoms of brutal coaching failure, and especially with a long-tenured coach a surefire sign that his time's up and there's urgent need for a new perspective, a new voice.

How has Low not been fired/resigned? Even Rudi Voller stepped down after Euro 2004 and that was a lot less embarassing considering how that side was just Michael Ballack and a bunch of guys not in their prime.

And this is the real reason Löw's departure should be a no-brainer..dude's been there for 12 years as boss, 14 years in a leading role, is approaching retirement age. Players admitted they went into the tournament complacent, that the group stage wasn't taken seriously, that players weren't willing to sacrifice. Those are symptoms of brutal coaching failure, and especially with a long-tenured coach a surefire sign that his time's up and there's urgent need for a new perspective, a new voice.

Click to expand...

Great post, thank you.

I agree that his time has passed but I don't think he should have been canned after Euro 2016. They never looked anywhere near as bad as they did in this WC, Russia 2018 was definitely an embarassing sh*#$ show.

I remember his exit interview after the Euro's and he was basically saying that after the 2010 WC and the 2012 Euro's he thoroughly felt that they deserved to lose to Spain and Italy but he could not say the same after this loss to France. I don't know, to me, it seems like he still had an handle on things.

May I ask what he did wrong in 2016? I remember Germany absolutely dominating France but not being able to score and France getting that fluke penalty. Other than sticking with Mueller who could'nt score with a bagful of money in a wh0re house, Germany seemed quite fine.

Click to expand...

Then you don't remember well. Lloris was rarely in danger. Germany had the possession, but that isn't dominance.

The last 'traditional' World Cup...in 2022 will be played in the winter and starting in 2026 we expand to 48 teams (although we knew that day was eventually coming) but the format is silly with groups of 3